A brawl at a Vermont middle school boys’ basketball game on Tuesday night led to the death of a man who engaged in the fight.

A basketball game between Alburgh and St. Albans ended with spectators brawling with one another. The fight ended before Vermont state police officers arrived at the scene. According to police, Russell Giroux of Alburgh was taken by ambulance to the Northwestern Medical Center in St. Albans, where he was pronounced dead.

In a statement from the executive director of the Vermont Principals Association, Jay Nichols, the group had no information beyond what the authorities gave.

Nichols’ statement said:

Although we can not speak specifically about the events at this individual game, we would like to once again emphasize that middle and high school sports are educational and are for the benefit of the student-athletes. Spectators that cannot behave appropriately can be barred from events and can face criminal charges.

On Wednesday, Beth Hemingway, Alburgh Principal, Michael Clark, Grand Isle Supervisory Union Superintendent, and Nick DeVita, Grand Isle Supervisory Union Director of Student Support Services, released a joint statement that read:

Our immediate goal is to remind and educate our students and families that our school culture is one of family, community, and kindness. We need our students and community to commit to the positive culture that our school community expects and deserves.

We commend the coaches and players of both teams as well as the Alburgh and St. Albans City staff in attendance who supported the students.

On Wednesday, the Superintendant of the Maple Run Unified School District, Bill Kimball, wrote in a Facebook post that he is “saddened by last night’s death of Russell Giroux.” His post read:

The Maple Run Unified School District condemns the Violence that occurred during the basketball game. We expect better from our communities. Fight and violence are wholly inconsistent with the behaviors we encourage and support. We always seek to foster a positive learning environment in school and at school events for our students. The tragic events that preceded Mr. Giroux’s death have caused our schools to evaluate school programs and community involvement.

Vermont state police are still investigating the incident, and an autopsy of Giroux will be done to determine the cause of death.

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